Chapter 29

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Toki took out the psychic scroll on his waist. After biting his finger, he pressed the blood onto the scroll.

Bang!

A white mist cleared, and a round shield appeared in Toki's hand. The shield was taller than a person, completely blocking Toki, resembling a table more than a typical shield.

With a smile, he gestured toward Shisui. "This is the secret weapon of our Uchiha clan."

Shisui stared at the odd shield in disbelief. "Secret weapon? That's it?" His eyes conveyed frustration, as if he had come all the way from Kirigakure only to witness a joke.

"Patriarch Toki, stop fooling around. I'm here to be serious."

Toki smiled mysteriously. "Who's joking with you? You'll understand what a secret weapon is when you're on the battlefield."

Originally, Toki sought to bridge the gap in numbers using scientific ninja tools. He invested his new month's reputation points into upgrading the Ninja Tools R&D Center, aiming for faster and more effective "bullets."

What he got was a one-time golden legend from the ninja database—an expensive blueprint for a B+++ level six ninja tool.

The tool was modeled after the treasure of the "Round Table" from the Knight of the Moon World. It formed an ultimate defensive shield that could encompass the entirety of Konoha Village, reflecting attacks and even smashing enemies by using the village itself. The strength depended on the mental power of the user, and the shield could only be maintained as long as the user's willpower remained strong. However, it didn't protect the tool's user.

Toki was baffled when he first unlocked it. "Are all the level 2 ninja research centers this extreme?" He had expected a more conventional advancement in scientific ninja tools, perhaps upgrades like weapons for artificial humans. Instead, he was handed a shield reminiscent of the one used by Mash Kyrielight in Fate/Grand Order.

He conducted tests in the clan's grounds and found it was as if Konoha Village itself had gained its own Susanoo. The shield's defense was enormous, and it even had the power to reflect ninjutsu. This powerful treasure—well, six-ninja tool—was enough to offset the Uchiha clan's disadvantage against Kumogakure's forces.

With this new weapon, Toki decided to leave most of the Uchiha's forces behind in Konoha while leading an elite team to the front lines himself. Despite the shield being usable by others, the strongest spiritual powers in the Uchiha clan belonged to Uchiha Fugaku and Toki, both having unlocked the Mangekyō. And Toki had no intention of handing it to Fugaku, fearing he might turn it against their own people under Sarutobi Hiruzen's influence.

Toki also summoned Shisui for another reason—there were simply too few usable talents under his command. While Shisui was from the pro-Konoha Uchiha Kagami lineage, he still cherished the Uchiha clan's glory and sought to protect it. This set him apart from the more radical figures like Uchiha Itachi.

Toki valued Shisui's talent, though he wasn't particularly interested in the Kotoamatsukami technique due to its long cooldown and unreliable results. In the anime, only two characters were confirmed to have encountered Kotoamatsukami: Uchiha Itachi and Mifune. But Toki suspected a third—Uzumaki Naruto. After all, Naruto's unwavering optimism despite discrimination seemed almost unnatural, possibly influenced by Kotoamatsukami cast by Danzo.

The version Danzo used, which could be countered by the Byakugan, might have been a weaker, cooldown-restricted form. However, with Toki's intervention, danzo would never get his hands on a Mangekyō. Toki wasn't about to gamble on whether his own Mangekyō could withstand the Kotoamatsukami.

So, his approach to Shisui was simple: recruit him. If that failed, eliminate him before his Mangekyō could activate.

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